Nedbank Small Business Index: Financing a major concern for businesses

Business owners rate obtaining finance as very difficult according to the latest survey results from Nedbank Small Business Index™ . Myth or fact?

Forty eight percent of small business owners believe that it is currently very difficult to obtain finance. This insight emerged from the second wave of results from surveys undertaken by Nedbank to develop a robust Small Business Index TM.

The index offers much-needed and easy-to-understand trends and insights to the local small business owner to help grow and nurture their future business.

Respondents of the survey listed affordability, strict qualification criteria, poor understanding of finance requirements and general apathy as factors that played a role in making finance difficult to obtain. On a scale of ‘very difficult’ to ‘very easy’, only 18% of business owners felt that finance was very easy to obtain, with 35% remaining neutral on the matter.

Also interesting to note was that, of the 47% of small businesses that tried to apply for finance, 64% of them were successful. It seems that small businesses are more likely than not to get the finance they need, if they go through the process of applying for finance. In addition 31% thought it very affordable over the 14% who believed it was not.

The fact that 82% of acquired finance came from commercial banks is a possible indication that small business owners are not aware of alternative sources and information on government incentives, venture capitalist funding and private investors needs to be more accessible.

Where did you obtain financial support from?

Approaching the relevant financier may also affect the chances of success, with finace opportunities differing by industry.

For more trends and insights, visit www.SimplyBiz.co.za, or join the conversations on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #SASmallBusinessIndex.

For more information on how Nedbank Small Business can help you, click here.

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